Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	church_n	ecclesiastical_a	power_n	7,773	5	5.2326	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78783	His Majesties finall ansvver concerning Episcopacie. Delivered in to the commissioners of Parliament the first of Novemb. 1648.	England and Wales. Sovereign (1625-1649 : Charles I); Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649.	1648 (1648)	Wing C2306; Thomason E469_17; ESTC R205464	21,665	30

and that in terminis he was the Bishop some naming the very persons of some of them as of Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna and others some calling him the chief Pastor or Superintendent of that Church and those that speak least and were more or less disaffected to Bishops as Beza Doctor Reynolds the Geneva Noto and even Cartwright himself the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 President or chief among the Presbyters And this they do sundry of them not crudely delivering their Opinions onely and then no more but they give Reasons for it and after examination of the several Opinions prefer this before the rest affirming That Doctissimi quique interpretes all the best learned Interpreters so understand it and that they cannot understand it otherwise vim nisi facere Textui velint unless they will offer violence to the Text. That which His Majesty said concerning the Subdivision of those that had divided themselves from the common judgement of this Church was meant by His Majesty as to the Subdivision in respect of this particular of the Angels wherein they differ one from another as to the division in respect of their dislike of Bishops wherein they all agree And truly His Majesty doth not yet see how either their differences can be possibly reconciled in the former no accommodation in the world being able to make all the people of the whole Church nor yet a Colledge consisting of many Presbyters to be one single person or their recess wholly excused in the latter their dissenting from the common and received judgement practice of the Christian Church in the matter of Episcopacy and the evil consequents thereof having in His Majesties opinion brought a greater reproach upon the Protestant Religion and given more advantage or colour at least to the Romish party to asperse the Reformed Churches in such sort as we see they do then their disagreement from the Church of Rome in any one controverted point whatsoever besides hath done IX Reply 17 18. As to the Apostles Successors HEre little is said the substance whereof hath not been Answered before His Majesty therefore briefly declares His meaning herein That the Apostles were to have no necessary Successors in any thing that was extraordinary either in their Mission or Unction That His Majesty spake not of Succession into Abilities otherwise then by instance mentioning other particulars withal which thing he thinketh needeth not to have been now the third time by you mentioned That in the Apostles Mission or Commission for His Majesty under the name of Mission comprehended both and consequently in the Apostolical Office as there was something extraordinary so there was something ordinary wherein they were to have Successors That Bishops are properly their Successors in the whole Apostolical Office so far as it was ordinary and to have Successors That therefore the Bishops Office may in regard of that Succession be said to be Apostolical That yet it doth not follow that they must needs be called Apostles taking the Denomination from the Office in as much as the Denomination of the Apostles peculiarly so called was not given them from the Office whereunto they were sent but as the word it self rather importeth from the immediateness of their Mission being sent immediately by Christ himself in respect whereof for distinction sake and in honor to their persons it was thought fitter by those that succeeded in common usage to abstain from that Denomination and to be stiled rather by the Name of Bishops That if the Apostles had no Successors the Presbyters who are their Successors in part immediately and subordinately to the Bishops will be very hard set to prove the warrant of their own Office and Mission which if not derived from the Apostles who onely received power of Mission from Christ by a continued line of Succession His Majesty seeth not upon what other bottom it can stand X. Reply 19-23 As to the standing Officers of the Church YOu insisted upon two places of Scripture Phil. 1. 1. and 1 Tim. 3. to prove that there were to be no more standing Officers in the Church then the two in those places mentioned viz. Presbyters who are there called Bishops and Deacons whereunto His Majesties answer was That there might be other though not mentioned in those places which Answer though it were alone sufficient yet ex abundanti His Majesty shewed withal that supposing your interpretation of the word Bishop in both the places viz. to denote the Office of Presbyter onely there might yet be given some probable conjectures which likewise supposed true might satisfie us why that of Bishop in the distinct sence should not be needful or proper to be named in those places His Majesties former Reason though in Hypothesi and as applied to the Church of Philippi it be but conjectural yet upon the credit of all Ecclesiastical Histories and consideration of the condition of those times as it is set forth in the Scriptures also it will appear in Thesi to be undoubtedly true viz. That the Apostles themselves first planted Churches that they were perpetual Governors and in chief of all the Churches whilest they lived that as the burthen grew greater by the propagation of the Gospel they assumed others in partem curae committing to their charge the peculiar oversight of the Churches in some principal Cities and the Towns and Villages adjacent as James at Jerusalem and others in other places sooner or later as they saw it expedient for the service of the Church That the persons so by them appointed to such peculiar charges did exercise the powers of Ordination and other Government under the Apostles and are therefore in the Church Stories called Bishops of those places in a distinct sence That in some places where the Apostles were themselves more frequently conversant they did for some while govern the Churches immediately by themselves before they set Bishops there and that after the Apostles times Bishops onely were the ordinary Governors of the Churches of Christ And His Majesty believeth it cannot be proved either from clear evidence of Scripture or credible testimonies of Antiquity that ever any Presbyter or Presbytery exercised the power either of Ordination at all without a Bishop or of that which they call Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in ordinary and by their own sole Authority or otherwise then as it was delogated unto them upon occasion and for the time by Apostles or Bishops For that place of Phil. 1. 1. in particular His Majesties purpose being not to interpret the place a work fitter for Divines but to manifest the inconsequence of the Argument whereby you would conclude but two standing Officers onely because but two there named gave this as one probable conjecture why there might be no Bishop in distinct sence there mentioned because possibly the Apostles had not as yet set any Bishops over that Church which His Majesty did not propose as the onely no nor yet as the most probable conjecture for which cause

that from the evidence of the Epistles onely of Saint Paul to Timothy Wherein as he particularly expresse●h the Qualification work and duty of Presbyters and Deacons that Timothy might know what persons were fit to be ordained unto those Offices So in the directions given to Timothy throughout those Epistles he sufficiently describeth the Qualification work and duty of a Bishop that Timothy might know how to behave himself in the exercise of his Episcopall Office as well in ordaining as in Governing the Church 5. Reply Sect. 8. As to the signification of the word Episcopus the primary signification thereof and the application of it to Church Officers you acknowledge and that the same was after by Ecclesiastical usage appropriated to Bishops you deny not But the distinction of Episcopus Gregis Episcopus Pastorum you do not allow If you disallow it for the unfitnesse of the word as may seem by that passage where you say That His Majesty hath said that Episcopus signifieth a Keeper of Shepherds His Majesty thinketh you might very well have spared that exception For if there be a person that hath the oversight of many Shepherds under him there is no more impropriety in giving such a person the stile of Episcopus Pastorum than there is in using of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in calling Doeg the Master of Sauls Herdmen And for the thing it self it cannot be denied but that the Apostles and Timothy and Titus by what clam ordinary or extraordinary as to the present busines it matters not had the oversight and authority over many Pastors and were therefore truly and really Episcopi Pastorum The appropriation of the names of Episcopus and Presbyter to these distinct Offices considering that it was done so early and received so universally in the Church as by the writings of Clemens Ignatius the Canons commonly called of the Apostles and other ancient evidences doth appear His Majesty hath great reason to believe that it was done by consent of the Primitive Bishops meerly in honour of the Apostles out of their respect and reverence to whose persons and personall Prerogatives they chose to call themselves Bishops rather than Apostles in common usage although they made no scruple to maintain their succession from the Apostles when they spake of things proper to the Episcopall Function nor to use upon occasion the termes of Apostle and Apostolicall in that sence the truth of all which is to be see●e frequently in the writings of the Ancients The Testimonies of so many writers ancient and modern as have been produc●d for the Scripture-originall of Bishops His Majesty conceiveth to be o● so g●eat importance in a question of this nature that he thinketh himself bound bo●h in Charity and Reason to believe that so many men of such quality would not have asserted the same with so much confidence but upon very good ground The men respectively of high estimation and reverend authority in the Church worthily re-renowned for their Learning and Piety of moderate and even Passions of Orthodox belief sundry of them uninteressed in the Quarrell and some of them of later times by interest and education byassed rather the other way Their assertions positive peremptory and full of assurances Constat ne●no ignorat it is clear none can be ignorant and other such like expressions Namely that Christ constituted Bishops in the Apostles That it was founded upon a divine Law That Episcopacy is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Ordinance of God That it seemed good to the holy Ghost so to order it c. Insomuch as they accounted Aerius an Heretique for holding the Contrary And this their judgement they delivered as led there into by divine evidence of Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods word teacheth it apertis Scripturae testimoniis it appeareth by plain testimonies of Scripture discimus ex hoc loco From this place we learn and the like which testimonies should they be encountered as His Majesty doth not yet believe they can be with a cloud of Witnesses to the Contrary for number and in every other respect equal thereunto Yet should not the Authority of their evidence in reason be much lessened thereby inasmuch as one witnesse for the Affirmative ought to be of more value than ten for the Negative and the testimony of one person that is not interressed than of an hundred that are And whereas you seem in this Question to decline this kind of triall because matter of right is properly triable by Scripture His Majesty conceiveth this present Question in what termes soever proposed to be yet in the true stating of it and in the last Resolution clearly a Question of Fact and not of Right For what right soever the Bishops have or pretend to have must be derived from the fact of Christ or his Apostles Which matter of Fact if it be not in the most plain historicall manner that may be related in the Scriptures but is to be deduced thence by topical remote inferences and probability of conjectures the most rationall and proper expedient for the finding out of the Right is to have recourse to the Judgement but especially to the Practice of the nearest and subsequent times according to the received Maximes Lex currit cum Praxi Consuetudo optimus interpres Legum Now he that shall find by all the best Records extant that the distinction of Bishops from and the Superiority over Presbyters was so universally and speedily spread over the face of the whole world and their Government submitted unto so unanimously by the Presbyters that there never was any considerable opposition made there against before Aerius and that cryed down as an Heresie Nor since till this last Age And shall duly consider with all that if Episcopall Government had not had an indubitable institution from the Authority of Christ and his Apostles or if any other Form of Church Government could have pretended to such institution had been the most impossible thing in the world when there neither was any outward certain power to inforce it nor could be any Generall Councel to establish it to have introduced such a Form of Government so suddenly and quietly into all Christian Churches and not the Spirit of any one Presbyter for ought that appeareth for above three hundred years to have been provoked either through zeal ambition or other motive to stand up in the just defence of their own and the Churches liberty against such an usurpation His Majesty believeth that whosoever shall consider the premises together with the Scripture evidences that are brought for that Government will see reason enough to conclude the same to have something of divine institution in it notwithstanding all the evasions and objections that the subtil wit of man can devise to perswade the contrary And therefore His Majesty thinketh it fit plainly to tell you that such Conjectura●l Interpretations of Scripture as he hath yet met with in this